A RARE MONOGRAMMED CHINESE PORCELAIN ARMORIAL BOWL W/ UNIQUE MARK

Description

This  porcelain  bowl is among the vast  but exclusive category of  the finest Chinese dishes referred to as "armorial". The decorations on these special-made-to order dishes were "customized" like the dinner sets ordered for by the Jefferson household, by members of the English royalty and nobility who had rightful claim to family crests and  coat-of-arms. Well-to-do "commoners" instead used ornate calligraphic monograms to decorate and personalize their sets as exemplified in this particular item. This bowl is gorgeous; it is finely potted, thin walled and delicately decorated with small floral bouquets and sprigs. The dainty character is what distinguishes this type of Chinese  porcelain from the rest of the infinite array of Chinese export porcelain dishes. This bowl is 9 1/8" in diameter and 3 1/2" high. It is uniquely marked with a monogram within a barred square shop mark. Very good to excellent condition considering its age.